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Bird

Dark-eyed Junco

Junco hyemalis

Lives in North Carolina all year and nests here. Found in all 100 counties, across 22 habitats.

Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 100 counties
Habitats
22

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 100 counties
Habitats
22
Habitat models
Summer, Winter

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in North Carolina 22

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 22

Cliffs, ledges and rocky summits

North Carolina Mountain Landscape
SummerWinterSouthern Piedmont Cliff; Southern Appalachian Montane Cliff; Southern Appalachian Rocky SummitWilliam Frerichs, North Carolina Mountain Landscape: rocky bluffs and ledges above a river in the Carolina mountains. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. North Carolina mountains (William C. A. Frerichs)North Carolina Mountain Landscape, William Charles Anthony Frerichs, c. 1855-1870. Public domain. Source record.

Forests and woodlands

Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain.
SummerSouthern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine ModifierNamed place / source context. Shown: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Georgia, a neighboring state.Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain., Unidentified in HFC record, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Freshwater marshes

Georgia pond and emergent wetland
SummerWinterCentral Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland SystemsRegional / representative. Shown: Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Georgia; representative pond ecosystem, a neighboring state.Georgia pond and emergent wetland, Robert 'Bob' Hynes, 1997. Public domain. Source record.

Granite and other acidic rock outcrops

Bald Face from Lake Fairfield, Sapphire, N.C.
SummerWinterSouthern Appalachian Granitic DomeBald Face above Lake Fairfield, Sapphire, North Carolina: a bare granite dome rising above forest and a still lake (photochrom print, about 1902). Bald Face (Big Bald Face) above Lake Fairfield, Sapphire, Jackson County, North CarolinaBald Face from Lake Fairfield, Sapphire, N.C., Detroit Publishing Co. (photochrom print), c. 1902. Public domain. Source record.

Pine flatwoods

Georgia Pines
WinterCentral Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and FlatwoodsGeorge Inness, Georgia Pines (1890): tall, straight pines over an open, grassy floor in a south Georgia pine woods. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Georgia pine woods (George Inness, 1890; site not named), a neighboring state.Georgia Pines, George Inness (1825-1894), 1890. Public domain. Source record.

Rich cove forests

Cove hardwood forest
SummerSouthern and Central Appalachian Cove ForestRegional / representative. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee; representative habitat composite, not a documented exact viewpointCove hardwood forest, Hynes, Robert 'Bob', by 2012. Public domain. Source record.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Black Mountainlabel QS:Len,"Black Mountain"
SummerWinterDeveloped, Open Space; Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb Regeneration; Utility Swath - Herbaceous; Disturbed, Non-specific; Ruderal Upland - Old FieldLyell Carr, Black Mountain: a pasture and hayfield with a log barn, rail fence and grazing cow below the Black Mountains. Black Mountain, North Carolina (Lyell E. Carr)Black Mountainlabel QS:Len,"Black Mountain", Lyell Carr, c. 1890-1912. Public domain. Source record.

Spruce-fir forests

Spruce-fir forest
SummerRegional / representative. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee; representative habitat composite, not a documented exact viewpointSpruce-fir forest, Hynes, Robert 'Bob', by 2012. Public domain. Source record.

Swamps

View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina
SummerWinterSouthern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression SwampNamed place / source context. Great Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, as titled by Museum of Fine Arts Boston; nineteenth-century artistic interpretationView, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, Regis Francois Gignoux, 1850. Public domain. Source record.

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

SummerWinter

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

SummerSouthern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest - Xeric; Central and Southern Appalachian Montane Oak Forest; Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Hardwood Modifier; Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest; Southern Appalachian Montane Pine Forest and Woodland; Southern Appalachian Low Mountain Pine Forest

Forest edges and thickets

Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.

SummerWinterDisturbed/Successional - Shrub Regeneration; Successional Shrub/Scrub (Other); Harvested Forest - Shrub Regeneration

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Open, thin-soil openings and rock on limestone, dolomite or other lime-rich rock, including cedar glades.

WinterSouthern Interior Calcareous Cliff

Moderately dry forests

Forests between dry and moist, often oak-hickory on slopes.

SummerSouthern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest

Moist forests

Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.

SummerSouthern Piedmont Mesic Forest; Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest

Mountain balds

Treeless grassy or shrubby summits and ridges in the high mountains.

SummerWinterSouthern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Shrub Modifier; Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Herbaceous Modifier

Mountain bogs and fens

Wet, open, peaty mountain wetlands fed by seepage, often with sphagnum moss.

SummerWinter

Northern hardwood forests

High mountain forests of beech, yellow birch and sugar maple, including boulderfield forests.

Summer

Pine savannas

Open, fire-kept longleaf pine stands over grasses and wildflowers on wet to moist sandy soil.

WinterCentral Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods

Sandhills

Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.

WinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier; Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier

Tree plantations and managed pine

Planted or intensively managed stands of pine or hardwoods grown for timber; a land use rather than a natural community.

SummerDeciduous Plantation; Evergreen Plantation or Managed Pine; Managed Tree Plantation

Wet meadows

Open, wet, grassy or sedgy ground that is not a bog.

SummerWinterCentral Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems
Other habitats in its models (96)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in North Carolina. Those recorded in North Carolina first, the rest by region.

In North Carolina 2

  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
Elsewhere in the South (32)
  • Appalachian Shale Barrens Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Winter.
  • Central Florida Herbaceous Pondshore Winter.
  • Central Interior Highlands Calcareous Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
  • Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
  • Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Winter.
  • Cumberland Riverscour Summer and winter.
  • Cumberland Sandstone Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest Summer.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Summer.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Savanna and Wet Prairie Winter.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Winter.
  • Edwards Plateau Limestone Savanna and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Winter.
  • Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Winter.
  • Northern Crowley's Ridge Sand Forest Winter.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Winter.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Bluestem Woodland Winter.
  • Ridge and Valley Calcareous Valley Bottom Glade and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Winter.
  • Southern Interior Acid Cliff Summer and winter.
  • Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer.
  • Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest Summer.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Catahoula Barrens Winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Nepheline Syenite Glade Winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Calcareous Prairie Winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods Winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Calcareous Prairie Winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Winter.
  • Western Great Plains Mesquite Woodland and Shrubland Winter.
Northeast (9)
  • Acadian Low-Elevation Spruce-Fir-Hardwood Forest Summer.
  • Appalachian Hemlock-Hardwood Forest Summer.
  • Central Appalachian Alkaline Glade and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Central Appalachian Oak and Pine Forest Summer.
  • Central Appalachian Pine-Oak Rocky Woodland Summer.
  • North-Central Appalachian Acidic Cliff and Talus Summer and winter.
  • North-Central Appalachian Circumneutral Cliff and Talus Summer and winter.
  • North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Winter.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer.
Midwest (11)
  • Central Interior Acidic Cliff and Talus Summer and winter.
  • Central Interior Calcareous Cliff and Talus Summer and winter.
  • Central Mixedgrass Prairie Summer.
  • North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Summer.
  • North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland Summer.
  • North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland Summer.
  • North-Central Interior Maple-Basswood Forest Summer.
  • North-Central Interior Oak Savanna Summer and winter.
  • North-Central Interior Sand and Gravel Tallgrass Prairie Summer.
  • North-Central Oak Barrens Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Winter.
Land cover and other classes (42)
  • Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood Summer.
  • Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Pine Modifier Summer.
  • Arkansas Valley Prairie and Woodland Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-Line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Winter.
  • Central Appalachian Floodplain - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Developed, Low Intensity Winter.
  • Developed, Medium Intensity Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Herbaceous Modifier Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Modifier Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Prairie and Woodland Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest - Offsite Pine Modifier Summer.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Winter.
  • Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer.
  • Eastern Great Plains Wet Meadow, Prairie, and Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Eastern Highland Rim Prairie and Barrens - Dry Modifier Winter.
  • Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Open Understory Modifier Winter.
  • Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Winter.
  • Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Summer and winter.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Annual Grassland Summer and winter.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Summer and winter.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Summer and winter.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Shrub Summer and winter.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Treed Summer.
  • Modified/Managed Southern Tall Grassland Winter.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Virginia/Pitch Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Summer.
  • Recently Burned Summer and winter.
  • Recently Burned Forest Summer and winter.
  • Recently Burned Grassland Summer.
  • Recently Burned Shrubland Summer and winter.
  • Recently Logged Areas Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer.
  • Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Summer.

All habitats

Seasons in North Carolina

  • Year-round: nests here, in 31 of 100 counties.
  • Winter: does not nest here, in 82 of 100 counties.

Food plants

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Plants matched by genus.

Native plants in these genera 216

Plant genera in its diet records (26)
  • Polygonum Seeds. 2 diet records. 5 native plants in North Carolina
  • Amaranthus Seeds. 1 diet record. 3 native plants in North Carolina
  • Ambrosia Seeds. 1 diet record. 4 native plants in North Carolina
  • Anthemis Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in North Carolina
  • Avena Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in North Carolina
  • Brassica Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in North Carolina
  • Calandrinia Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in North Carolina
  • Carex Seeds. 1 diet record. 148 native plants in North Carolina
  • Centaurea Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in North Carolina
  • Claytonia Seeds. 1 diet record. 2 native plants in North Carolina
  • Erodium Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in North Carolina
  • Geranium Seeds. 1 diet record. 2 native plants in North Carolina
  • Lupinus Seeds. 1 diet record. 3 native plants in North Carolina
  • Madia Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in North Carolina
  • Panicum Seeds. 1 diet record. 5 native plants in North Carolina
  • Phleum Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in North Carolina
  • Portulaca Seeds. 1 diet record. 2 native plants in North Carolina
  • Rumex Seeds. 1 diet record. 3 native plants in North Carolina
  • Silene Seeds. 1 diet record. 5 native plants in North Carolina
  • Solanum Seeds. 1 diet record. 2 native plants in North Carolina
  • Sonchus Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in North Carolina
  • Spergula Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in North Carolina
  • Stellaria Seeds. 1 diet record. 3 native plants in North Carolina
  • Toxicodendron Seeds. 1 diet record. 3 native plants in North Carolina
  • Trifolium Seeds. 1 diet record. 2 native plants in North Carolina
  • Viola Seeds. 1 diet record. 24 native plants in North Carolina

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in North Carolina, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.

Dark-eyed Junco uses many habitats in North Carolina; these are its 3 most characteristic.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Birds 90

Plants 1314

All of roadsides, fields and disturbed ground in North Carolina

Forest edges and thickets

Birds 41

Plants 231

All of forest edges and thickets in North Carolina

Mountain balds

Birds 24

Plants 76

All of mountain balds in North Carolina

USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.

Sources